Development of a cryogen-free quantum nano-optical microscope
Abstract
In the past decade, optical nano-scopy with classical coherent light emerged as must-have analytical instruments at shared characterization facilities, government laboratories, synchrotron infrared (IR) beamlines and hundreds of single-PI labs worldwide. The co-Pis developed an original design of a cryogen-free nano-optical quantum microscope utilizing entangled photon sources and the required single-photon detectors. Interferometric detection schemes that are at the heart of the proposed apparatus provide experimental access to the higher order correlation functions allowing one to quantify the strength of the quantum correlations. The co-Pis have performed extensive tests validating the technical feasibility of the proposed concepts. The unique novel capabilities enabled by the quantum nano-optical microscope are the witnessing, verifying, and quantifying of quantum coherence in materials, heterostructures and molecular systems at relevant length scales. Specifically, the proposed system will provide unobstructed access to electron-photon states formed by material excitations and entangled photons. Information on quantum coherence and dephasing effects in materials encoded in the properties of emitted or scattered photons is readily accessible with the proposed instrument. Moreover, this apparatus offers the means to investigate the properties of quantum emitters and correlated photon waveguides at the nanoscale in the setting of on-chip structures, thus empowering both fundamental and applied advances.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2025
- Source ID
- FA95502510070
Entities
People
- Dmitri N. Basov
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
- United States Air Force